Chapter 4

In the evening, Pete entered the Green Inn to eat a meal. Tonight, the bar was full of people sitting at the tables and talking to one another.

"Hey, Pete!" came Duke's voice from behind the bar. "I figured ya might come here tonight. How ya doin'? Want somethin' to drink?"

"I'll just have water," said Pete.

"Well, aren't ya the healthy one!" said Duke. "Hold on a sec, and I'll get it for ya. And sit at any table ya want."

Pete found an empty table and sat down. A sassy voice came from behind him. "Hey! I don't remember seeing you around here before!"

He turned around in his chair, and saw that the voice came from a waitress. A young woman around Pete's age who had long brown hair with blonde bangs and a purple sleeveless jacket with a white tank top underneath and blue shorts. Despite her edgy appearance (or perhaps partly because of it), she was very attractive, and her beautiful green eyes stared at Pete curiously.

"Oh, you must be Pete!" said the waitress. "I'm Karen."

Pete gasped. "Karen? Karen Forestgaze?"

Karen rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm Karen Forestgaze! Who else would I be? There are no other girls named Karen in this town. It is a small village, after all."

"But surely you remember me," said Pete.

"Whether I do remember you or not, it doesn't matter," said Karen. "You won't be here for very long anyway."

"And what makes you think that?" said Pete.

"Oh, I don't think it," said Karen, "I know it. Anybody with any amount of common sense would want to ditch this crummy town the first chance they got."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Pete.

"Of course I am," answered Karen. "Do you think I'm going to stay in this crap hole forever? No. I'm going to move out of here and become a dancer in a big city like my mother before me. Why she moved back into this village, I'll never know. As soon as I earn enough money, I'm out of here forever! I hate this town! Don't think I don't know what you'll think of this town after only a few days!"

"Karen!" came Doug's voice from across the room. "Would you please stop talking to Pete and get on with your work? You still have a half hour before your shift is over. You aren't done yet."

"Alright," said Karen, rolling her eyes again. "I can't wait to get out of this town," she muttered under her breath.

"Pete!" said Ann excitedly from over where Doug was standing. "I'm so glad you decided to take over old Jack's farm! I don't know how well you'll do, but I'm rooting for you!"

"Who's this?" came a grumpy sounding voice from another corner of the room. A young man, slightly older than Pete, wearing an old cap with a picture of a horse on it, approached Pete.

"That's Pete!" said Ann. "He's going to live in Mineral Town now, and take care of old Jack's farm! Isn't that great!"

"I don't think so," he answered with a grouchy voice, and he turned and walked into the back room.

"Hey!" Ann called after him angrily. "Come back here!" She turned back to Pete. "Sorry about that. That was my brother Gray. He's a social disaster."

"You don't have to tell me," said Pete.

"He's right though," said Doug, walking over to the table. "Pete doesn't have what it takes to run a farm. I tried telling you this morning, Ann. He's a city boy. He hasn't worked on a farm in his life. He won't be able to do it. No, he'll give up before you know it and this land will be purchased by those developers. I hate to say it, but that's what will happen." He turned and walked away.

Pete sighed. "He's right," he said. "What do I know about farming?"

"Well," said Ann, "You did enjoy it here twenty years ago."

"But I was a kid then," said Pete. "I didn't look at things the same way I look at them now."

Ann put her hand on Pete's, but he pulled his hand away.

"Don't talk to me!" he burst out. "You acted like you didn't know that I'd inherited the farm when you talked to me this morning, and guilt-tripped me into accepting it when I didn't want to!"

"But I didn't know!" said Ann.

"Oh yeah?" said Pete. "Then why was your father apparently talking with you about me running the farm prior to you finding out about it?"

"I had that conversation with him after you left the inn yesterday," said Ann. "When I talked to you about the developers who wanted to purchase the farmland, I didn't know anything about old Jack's will yet. Dad told me about it after you left. Okay? Please trust me."

Pete wasn't able to answer, because there suddenly came a crash from a corner of the room. Karen had tripped over a table and knocked it over, scatting dishes and food all over the floor.

"Karen!" shouted Duke. "Have you been drinking during your shift again?"

"It was just a little," said Karen.

"Just a little?" he shouted angrily. "You wouldn't be acting like this if it was just a little. You're one of the biggest drinkers in town!"

"I don't care even if it was just a little," Doug chimed in. "The rules of my business are clear. No drinking during shift!"

Ann turned to Pete. "Let's go outside," she said. "Too much craziness for one day. I'll take your meal to your house for you."

They both got up from the table and went outside. Ann laughed, "That was pretty crazy, wasn't it?" They walked over to a fenced area where a bunch of chickens could be seen running around. "These are my family's chickens," she said. "We've been raising chickens for generations."

Pete said nothing. He just stared at the chickens. So Ann went on. "Old Barley next door raises cows and sheep and horses. He gave me one a few weeks ago. Would you like to see him?"

Pete nodded.

Ann led Pete to a small stable and opened the door. They entered, and Pete was greeted by a little horse with brown fur, quietly eating some straw.

"This is Lucky," said Ann. "He's young right now, but he's really smart."

Pete finally spoke. "Yeah, he looks like he'll grow up to be a great horse."

Ann turned to look at him curiously. "You really think so?"

"Yeah," said Pete. "I think he might even be great in the horse races someday." He looked around. "You got any apples?" he asked. "I think he might like one."

"Yup," said Ann, turning around and grabbing one from a box behind her. "I've got one right here."

Pete took the apple and held it out for Lucky, who began eating it from his hand.

"You say you don't know anything about farming," said Ann, "But you're doing very well with Lucky right now."

"Oh, it's just beginner's luck," said Pete.

"No," said Ann. "Lucky actually likes you. You have a way with horses."

"You really think so?" asked Pete.

"I know so!" said Ann. "Pete, you have to stop putting yourself down so easily. You aren't as bad at farming as you think." She pulled out a bag of gold coins. "And I'll make sure to give you any help I can, including giving you a little headstart. Take this money, and first thing tomorrow morning, go to Florist Lillia and buy a bag of turnips. I'll come by the farm tomorrow to help you plant them."

Pete felt ready to cry. "Thank you, Ann," he said. "So far tonight nearly everybody has put me down when it comes to working on the farm. I'm very happy that you're willing to help me, even when your father and brother don't think I can do it."

"I stopped caring about what they think years ago," said Ann. "Once they get to know you better, they'll be saying positive things about you as well, you'll see."

"Yeah," said Pete. He smiled. "You know, things might not be so bad after all. I'll be earning money from crops before I know it. I'll probably even have animals on my farm in year or two."

"You're going to have an animal on your farm starting tonight," said Ann, "Because I'm giving Lucky to you."

Pete gasped. "No, no," he said. "Lucky is your horse. I don't want to take him from you."

"I like Lucky very much," said Ann. "But I don't have room for him here. This is a chicken farm, not a horse ranch. He'll be much better off on your farm than on mine. I'll be sure to come by and visit him so that he won't miss me too much. Just promise me that you'll enter him in the horse race when he's old enough."

"I promise," said Pete. "I'll take very good care of Lucky for you."

"Thank you," said Ann, untying Lucky from the stable. "He's yours. Wake up bright and early tomorrow to feed him. I'll be there to help you. And don't worry, you'll be a great farmer. Maybe the greatest farmer Mineral Town has ever known!"